Where the Umpqua meets the Pacific and Oregon's third-largest estuary opens to the ocean. Launch or book a charter for Chinook and coho salmon (best August–October), albacore tuna (July–September), and halibut, lingcod, and rockfish (spring through fall), plus Dungeness crab in the bay (best fall into winter).

The jetties at the mouth of the Umpqua are a local hotspot for fall Chinook staging on their way in (August–October), with year-round bottomfish and some of the bay's best crabbing in fall and winter. Fish the tide changes, and give the commercial shellfish lines inside the jetty a wide berth.

A 900-foot public pier in Winchester Bay and one of the easiest places on the coast to catch Dungeness crab without a boat — crabbing is best from late summer through winter. You can also pick up perch and other bay fish in spring and summer. An Oregon shellfish license is required.

The Umpqua's tidewater — from the mouth up about 20 miles to Scottsburg — holds prehistoric white sturgeon, with the fishing best from winter into spring (roughly December–May). Anchor over 8 to 30 feet of water near the channel buoys, the Highway 101 bridge, or off the Dean Creek elk area.

A free public ramp right in downtown Reedsport, centrally located in the tidewater — put in here for fall Chinook (late summer into fall) and winter-to-spring sturgeon. Easy in-and-out to the tidal Umpqua, with a fish-cleaning station on site.

The mainstem Umpqua is one of the finest smallmouth bass rivers in the West, and late spring through summer (May–September) is prime — hundred-fish days are real. The classic drift runs between the Yellow Creek and Elkton ramps, about 40 minutes upriver, casting to rocky ledges and gravel bars for scrappy bronzebacks.

The Smith forks off the lower Umpqua at the estuary and is one of Oregon's few reliable striped bass rivers — spring and fall are prime for stripers, with no harvest limit on bass. It also runs winter and summer steelhead, fall Chinook and coho, sea-run cutthroat (late summer and fall), and a shad run in May and June.

A free, year-round public ramp about 9 miles up Smith River Road — quiet, forested access to the Smith's steelhead water (winter and summer) and its spring and fall striped bass, open 6 am to 10 pm daily. Smith River Falls and Fawn Creek offer additional launches farther upriver.

Handy public ramps around the area: Rainbow Plaza in downtown Reedsport for the tidewater Umpqua, Winchester Bay / Salmon Harbor for the ocean and bay, Scottsburg Park and Scott Creek for the upper tidewater, Yellow Creek for the smallmouth water, and Noel Ranch and Smith River Falls on the Smith River.

New to the salt, or after a trophy? Book a local charter out of Salmon Harbor for salmon (summer into fall), albacore tuna (summer), and halibut and bottomfish (spring through fall) — boat, gear, and expertise included.